My mission:
Discover the cheese making techniques of the Himalayan mountain range and of course to find an adorable Yeti that wants me as his mate!
Its come to that time of year where I am itching to explore (a little more than the countryside on foot and the interior of the cheese room).
So I have decided to go and pay homage to the land where cows are sacred, where dairy is close to none and enjoy the hustle and bustle and craziness of none other than INDIA!
What better a place for a cheese maker to visit than the land of scared cows?
As usual I have put my own slant on things and have planned a rather physical fun filled excursion to Nepal to trek in the shadow of the Himalayas. At first it was a physical quest: a nine day trek that I had my heart on, but lately understanding that I may get lonely and start talking to myself I have opted for the foot trek with a guide and the occasional donkey ride! yeeeeaaawwwwhhhh (that's the sound that donkey's make if you were wondering)
I am going to be riding in the mountains via donkey (how many people get to say that??) and hope to meet some small village people with small herds of yak so that I can make yak butter and cheese.
In these small mountainous villages they make different types of cheeses seasonally and store it in caves. It is the unique character of the cheeses these mountain villages store that has me trekking for numerous days. I know I am bound to come back having learned some very interesting techniques. Its the challenge of re-creating those unique mountainous flavors that will keep me going. All for the love of cheese.
I also have a very romantical notion that while I am trekking in the mountainous ranges of the Himalayas that a Yeti will find my abilities of cheese-making and butter churning simply irresistible and choose me as his mate and sweep me (literally) off my feet.
As a cheese maker I feel that it is my calling and duty to tackle such excursions and continuously learn how other cultures and societies process milk into cheese. I have always been a lover of culture and have greatly enjoy learning about other religions, communities and of course what they eat. The imprint that cheese makers have on societies is an interesting one. In almost every culture you can learn in depth things about the community and society by their means of processing milk into cheese.
It is India and only India that hold the cow sacred and I think that it is appropriate that I go and pay my respects to the Holy Cows of India and give thanks to my good fortune as a cheesemaker.
Yak butter is the new Moose milk btw. The people of Nepal drink it in their tea, and as a Irish afternoon tea drinker and lover of butter I thought "What better merger of the two" although I doubt that my grandmother would be happy.
My only worry is that I will get deeply and udderly (hehahea) lost.
I am slightly concerned about this as I can get deeply lost in the most un-remote of circumstances (like 1-5) so I asked my Dad how it was that I can never find my way. This is what he said.
"Lisa before you were born GD asked you if you could choose between having a fabulous sense of direction or being a cheese maker- the rest is history"
So you see I decided to find my way by making cheese - and I am deeply in love with the fact that cheese will always lead the way to everything I need.
Because this very well might be my very last market (assuming a mountain Yeti picks me as his mate) you should definitely come to Hillsdale January 21st and say hello (or goodbye) and pick up some JC goodness!
February 20th is my last cheese class of the season so if you would like to attend please call 503.546.3737 and make your reservation. We will be having a lite supper with vino! along with the class.
Yours always
Cheese Czarina
P.S. If I don't come back please come looking for me in the mountains of the Himalayas- instead of streams you can look for tributaries of whey cascading down the mountain and wrappings of bit o honey.
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